Burden of Truth Season 3 Episode 4 Review: Desperate Measures
Leora W at .It's a race to find the Chartrands on Burden of Truth Season 3 Episode 4. Kodie took her kids and ran, and Joanna needs to find her before Mercer and his gang of vigilante cops do.
It's pretty clear at this point that Mercer is as scummy as he ever was. He's still got a bone to pick with Millwood's indigenous population and none more so than Owen.
Who else was screaming at Owen not to react when Mercer was goading him?
The scene wasn't pleasant to start with, but Owen had it well in hand before that. He got Mercer's vigilante band of cops to back off. He was ignoring Mercer, not engaging, and he needed to keep doing that!
Mercer: So that's it, huh? You'd rather protect a junkie who kidnaps her own kids than do your job? Ah, it's 'cause she's one of you, isn't it? You got a group of upstanding people here who care about the law and the safety of their community, but you'll always side with them, won'tcha? Oh, there it is. There it is. You got nothing to say to that, huh? 'Cause you're not one of us, are you? You can pretend to be a police chief all you want but we know what kind of chief you really are?
Owen: What I am, is the man who took you down. I put you in jail. I took your job. You don't call the shots anymore.
However, once he grabbed Mercer, it was all over. As The Mayor said, Mercer has the ammo now.
He is out to destroy Owen and return things to the status quo, and the other cops are all too happy to help him.
Mercer: I don't wanna overstep here but, Kodie Chartrand, she's a bad seed.
Owen: Is that your professional opinion or just going off of years of bias.
Mercer: Come on, Owen. Just 'cause I'm not a cop anymore doesn't mean I don't wanna help, especially when there's innocent kids involved.
Owen: Well, thank you for your concern. If you wanna volunteer there's a clothing drive at the senior center.
Mercer: My friends and I, we wanna go out and start a search for those kids. 'Cause your so busy with your BOLO.
Owen: No. This is an official police matter. And none of you are on duty.
Mercer: No. No, they're not so they don't need to sit by and take orders, do they? Sorry chief, can't sit by and do nothing on this one. Time's ticking.
How are they allowed to do what they were doing? How are no laws in place to prevent them from taking the law into their own hands?
Meanwhile, Kodie took the law into her own hands, and that did not turn out well for anybody. It wasn't a surprise after how Burden of Truth Season 3 Episode 3 ended, but it was still disappointing.
I was surprised that Luna told her to keep running, but in retrospect, I really should not have been.
Joanna: Do you trust me, Luna?
Luna: Of course.
Joanna: As your boss or as your sister?
Luna: Both.
Joanna: Because as your sister, who moved heaven and earth to clear you of murder charges, I am pretty hurt that you told Kodie that I didn't protect you.
Luna: That's not what I said.
Joanna: And as your boss, I am furious that you discredited me to our client and gave her illegal and unethical advice.
Luna: You have no idea what Kodie's going through right now.
Joanna: It is not our job to empathize. It is our job to get her out of it.
Luna: It's not exactly something I can just turn off. Okay, I've tried.
Joanna: Well try harder. Because as your sister, maybe I'll get over the fact that you went behind my back with Kodie. But as your boss, if you aren't with me, then you are against me, and there's no room for that at Crawford Chang.
Luna is becoming disenchanted with the law. I wonder if she ever really dealt with what happened to her last year.
Like, did she see a therapist? I feel like a lot of characters on this show could benefit from therapy. Or maybe a support group. Because right now, Luna doesn't have anybody who gets what she's been through.
I hated seeing Taylor and Luna fighting, but I get where both were coming from.
Who else had completely forgotten that Taylor wanted to be a lawyer? She has changed so much from the cheerleading, academic superstar she was at the beginning of the series.
I did find it a little odd that she and Luna had gotten so close when Burden of Truth Season 3 began. It was Molly and Taylor who were bonded by shared trauma, and Luna was sort of a part of that by proxy.
Luna and Taylor may have gotten a little closer on Burden of Truth Season 2, but with Molly out of the picture, I didn't expect them to stay close.
Now they are roommates. They volunteer for the Bear Patrol Clan together. Luna said Taylor was like the sister she never had. As much as that surprised me at the time, I hate to see them fighting like this when the relationship means a lot to both of them.
Taylor's life was destroyed years ago, but that doesn't mean she can't pick up the pieces now. It is honorable of her to volunteer for Bear Clan Patrol, but it is more Luna's thing.
If Taylor has dreams and goals, nothing is saying she can't go for them. Molly went back to school after the twitching stopped.
Granted, Molly never got cancer.
Taylor: I was supposed to be the lawyer, Luna. Remember? And then I lost my family and I got poisoned and I got leukemia. Look, I don't have anybody else. But it's kind of hard sitting around watching your best friend live the life that you were supposed to have.
Luna: I went to prison, Taylor.
Taylor: And now you're playing lawyer and your saving lives like it never even happened.
Still, it seems like Taylor has healed up a lot. Luna says her tests have been clear the past two years. If she still wants to pursue law, she can. If not, that's what undergrad is for.
I understand why she couldn't go to college before, but she probably could now. You don't want to live with resentment for the rest of your life.
The best part of this episode was finally getting some clarity on Joanna and Kodie's past. They are talking about it, and that was probably the longest flashback yet!
There is still a lot we don't know, of course. Mainly, we don't know what Joanna feels she did that started everything.
When you are inside it, it is hard to see a way out. I get that. When you helped me, I didn't want it. I didn't even understand that I needed it. I know that it looks bad right now but there is still hope. I am still fighting and I am not gonna leave you.
Joanna
My top guesses are that Joanna either tried to run away or tried to hurt herself. I'm leaning towards the hurting herself theory; it makes more sense. If she ran, it would have had to be from her mom to her dad.
Yes, Joanna worshiped her father. However, we also know that Joanna used to think her mother abandoned her.
Now, we know David Hanley made it seems like Joanna's mom was an unfit mother, and he used whatever Joanna did to verify the claim. That doesn't line up with her leaving her mom behind for him.
Amazing how David Hanley still haunts Joanna from beyond the grave. Ghosts have been a theme this season, in the sense of a past that haunts you. The writers seem to be emphasizing that your ghosts will never leave you no matter how much you bury them.
David is Joanna's greatest ghost. He's a ghost for Luna too, though in a different way. Her time in jail is also a pretty big ghost for her.
One of Billy's ghosts is his still very much alive father.
Hank: You know, the little one's a little wound up.
Billy: How do you mean?
Hank: Well, the way her big sister's always looking out for her. Like you and Shane ... it's hero-worship.
Billy: That wasn't worship. That was survival.
Hank: Kids are resilient. As long as they have each other they'll be okay.
Hank only made a brief appearance. He was actually helpful; he gave Billy an idea on how to argue Kodei's case. I'm not ready to trust him, though.
David and Mercer did not change their spots. Why should Hank?
While Billy is trying to play within the system, for a minute, it seemed like Joanna was willing to break the law to help Kodie.
In the end, Joanna got Kodie to do the right, legal thing.
Then it blew up in all their faces. Luna might not be the only one losing faith in the law.
Joanna: I'm not a trespasser. I'm a lawyer. And friend. I'm here to help my friend.
Kodie: Not really sure we're friends right now. Where are the cops? Parked in the car?
Joanna: No one else knows where you are. I'm just here to help.
Kodie: You know, for a big shot lawyer, all your help has done is make things a lot worse.
It seems either someone is specifically out to get Kodie, or, even more terrifying; this is what happens to every non-white single mother. Kodie may not be the most trustworthy, but she tried to do the right thing in the end. She trusted Joanna and Beckbie.
Now she's facing ten years in prison, and Joanna is having trouble dealing.
Joanna: I know that things seem out of control right now and I know how desperately you wanna be with your kids but we have to do this the right way.
Kodie: The right way for you. It's easy to follow the law when it isn't constantly trying to crush you. I talked to Luna. She listened to you. Turned herself in, tried to do the legal thing, and what;d that get her?
Joanna: Exonerated.
Kodie: After months rotting in jail. Do you have any idea what months in foster care does to kids? Luna told me not to turn myself in. She told me to run.
Joanna: Luna's not a lawyer. That would be very bad advice to take.
Kodie: And where's yours gotten me?
Joanna: The system isn't perfect; it was designed to protect children.
Kodie: I'm trying to protect them. I haven't always been the best mom but they don't deserve this. I went through the foster care system. I won't let that happen to them.
Joanna is The Law, so what will she do if she discovers the system really is broken? I guess we have to wait until next week to find out.
In the meantime, what did you guys think of the episode? Do you think Taylor is unfair? Did Luna cross the line? What is Owen going to do about Mercer? What exactly did Joanna do way back when?
Let us know in the comments, and do not forget you can watch Burden of Truth online right here via TV Fanatic.
Burden of Truth airs Thursday at 8/9c on The CW.
Leora W was a staff writer for TV Fanatic..
